RT
Page 29
RT
still dominates whilst PT awaits widespread adoption
The introduction of VMAT has slowly been adopted as the SoC for current RT practice
RT remains a mainstay of cancer therapy used for ablating localised early-stage tumours and often providing palliative relief for late-stage patients . RT is still dominated by photon beams , which while effective at tumour ablation , expose healthy tissue in the beams path to damaging radiation levels . This can be mitigated in part by rotating arc therapy that minimises collateral exposure . Particle therapy with protons or carbon ions allow precise targeted delivery of radiation . The large footprint and capital cost of current particle therapy systems restricts their use to particularly hard to treat cancers . There remains a substantial unmet need for particle therapy systems with a manageable footprint and cost . While at least one company has succeeded in developing an effective small footprint lower cost proton beam system , this is not yet sufficiently well engineered to allow an effective roll out of a substantial installed base . Having proven the concept , we are sure that , given the potential clinical impact and commercial opportunity , it is only a matter of time before an efficiently engineered small footprint system emerges .
� Software improvement of modern TPS : Artificial intelligence and machine learning is now used to improve the planning and delivery of the beam during the treatment regimen ;
� Particle therapy over photon-based RT : Particle therapy enables more precise targeting based on the physical properties of particles , with more centres adopting PT systems as technology advances and these become more accessible ;
� Reducing footprint of systems is key for increased adoption : The major current barrier to the adoption of PT systems is the large footprint associated with implementation . Systems that reduce this allow for smoother integration of potentially superior RT techniques ;
� FLASH is a technique for the future : The high-dose / low-exposure technique has begun trials in humans and shows promise for reducing side effects and treatment efficacy , however , still has far to go before it will be adopted as a standard technique .
Figure 24 : The current and future landscapes of radiotherapy
Source : goetzpartners Research
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